


Candles

by hemmotoxicity



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: F/M, FWB, Friends With Benefits, I dunno how to tag this, M/M, but yeah calum's an actor and luke works at starbucks, cake au, cake hoodings, friends with benefits relationship, hoodings, this is my first story on here tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 16:17:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4398809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hemmotoxicity/pseuds/hemmotoxicity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Calum and Luke are friends... with benefits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> so basically this is a little two-shot inspired by daughter's "candles". you can listen to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucfErwPTWs).

"You're leaving?" Calum asks.

 

He was lying on the bed, the hotel bedsheet pulled up to his waist and covering the lower half of his naked body.

 

"I have to go to work." Luke replies as he slips his shirt back on, because it was more or less true.

 

His shift starts in half an hour - leaving plenty of time to hang around - but he needed those minutes to remind himself that this was all things were, all they could be.

 

Sex with Calum was just sex - nothing more.

 

"And besides, don't you have a radio show in thirty minutes?" he asks, lacing up his sneakers.

 

"Well, yeah," Calum shrugs.

 

"See? Busy, busy, busy," Luke says, his cheerful tone at odds with the emptiness he was feeling inside.

 

"Can't we just hang out for a while? Play _FIFA_ or something? I'm tired and I don't wanna think about all the interviews we have this week."

 

"Aww, did I tire you out, big boy?"

 

"Heck no. This is the most fun I've had in weeks." Calum replies, cracking a small smile.

 

"Same here, but I really have to go," the blonde states, striding over to the bed and planting a kiss on Calum's cheek.

 

"Call me whenever, yeah?" he adds as he walks to the door.

 

"Will do," Luke hears the other say before he steps out into the hall.

 

Thirty minutes later he's standing behind the counter at work, as preoccupied as ever.

 

He shouldn't have kissed Calum, he realised. It was no more than a peck on the cheek, but he didn't want to give anything away. He didn't want Calum to find out that he wanted more, especially since he knows the other boy doesn't feel the same way.

 

He was everything to Luke, but to Calum he was just some boy he slept with whenever he was in town.

 

Still, those few precious moments were what Luke lived for - even though they brought him nothing more than temporary bliss.

 

"Excuse me," says a voice, startling Luke from his reverie.

 

"Yes?" he turns to the redheaded girl who had spoken.

 

"Could you turn it up, please?" she asks, indicating the radio that was sitting beside the cash register.

 

Luke does as she says, and soon the voice of a radio DJ breaks the cafe's comfortable silence.

 

"...and today we have Ashton, Michael, and Calum from the upcoming movie _Beau Rivage_!" the DJ was saying.

 

The redhead and her friends squeal excitedly as Luke's stomach drops at the mention of Calum's name.

 

_Not now, please, he thinks._

 

As much as he loved hearing the other's voice, he needed to have some time alone with his thoughts. Sleeping with Calum always messes with his head, and right now Luke badly needed to regain his composure.

 

It didn't help that he knew the boys would be asked about their love lives. This was a question Luke hated with every fibre of his being because it made him want to tell the world that Calum was his - something he obviously couldn't do because they weren't together.

 

When the dreaded question finally came, Ashton, Michael replied with their usual "single" and "Pringle".

 

"Pringle? What does that mean?" the DJ asks.

 

"It's kinda like single but hungry." Michael explains.

 

"Oh, I see!" the DJ laughs. "What about you, Calum? How's your love life?"

 

"Yeah, Cal, tell us about your love life!" Ashton adds, the playful tone of his voice catching Luke's attention.

 

 _Why are they teasing him? Is he dating someone?_ he wonders, hoping it wasn't true.

 

The thought of Calum seeing someone else made his blood boil.

 

"It's basically nonexistent." Calum chuckles.

 

"Riiight," Michael states.

 

"Oh come on, now, spill it!" insists the DJ.

 

Luke could almost see Calum shrugging. "I don't know, I mean there's someone that I hang out with a lot but I'm pretty sure they don't care about me."

 

 _What the hell?_ he thinks. _Here I am, miserable as ever, and they're just ignoring him. Who do they think are?_

 

"I'll just ask him," Luke whispers under his breath. "Next time I see Calum, I'll ask him about it."


	2. two

Business was oddly slow in the cafe the following day, leaving Luke with too much time to dwell on issues he'd rather not think about.

 

Luckily, he shared a shift with a psych major named Dylan. Luke supposed he was quite attractive, with that adorable smile, bright green eyes, and light brown hair that never really stayed down.

 

Not that any of it mattered to him. With the whole Calum situation, there wasn't really room to think about anything else, much less finding prospective boyfriends.

 

No, he didn't care about Dylan's good looks. The only thing that matters is that he's very good company. He filled the hours with lively chatter, distracting Luke enough that he almost forgot about Calum and all the problems he had been having since they started their little "agreement".

 

Almost - but not quite.

 

He was laughing his ass off at some joke Dylan had cracked when the cafe door opens and Calum steps in, wearing that  _Green Day_  shirt Luke loved so much.

 

 _It just_ had _to be that shirt, didn't it?_  he thinks.

 

The younger boy doesn't notice that Calum isn't his usual playful self until he walks up to the counter and glances briefly from the blonde to Dylan, his jaw set in a hard line.

 

Luke's eyes widen and the smile slides off of his face.

 

Calum was here.  _Here_ , in the cafe. And he was mad. What on Earth was he mad about?

 

 _Relax,_ he tells himself.  _Just relax._

 

He flashes his best cashier smile - the one that screamed professionalism.

 

"Good afternoon, sir. What would you like to have today?" he asks.

 

He already know the answer, of course. Calum's coffee order was just one of the things Luke knew about him. Still, he asks the raven-haired boy for formality's sake.

 

His reply wasn't what Luke expected, though.

 

"You." Calum says simply.

 

Dylan gives a low whistle.

 

"S-Sorry, what?" Luke stammers.

 

_Did he just say what I think he said?_

 

"You." Calum repeats.

 

Luke forces a laugh. "A  _Java Chip Frappucino_  it is, then." he says, because that was what Calum  _always_  bought.

 

"That wasn't what I ordered," Calum snaps.

 

"I'm working." Luke states, doing his best to keep his temper in check.

 

 _What's his problem?_  he wonders.

 

"I can see that."

 

"What the - " Luke begins, but he shakes his head and cuts himself off.

 

It would be unprofessional - not to mention pointless - to argue in front of his coworker. He's seen Calum when he was in a bad mood, and it was nearly impossible to knock some sense into him. Not knowing what he was mad about did absolutely nothing to help with the situation.

 

"Could you take over for a bit?" Luke asks, turning his head and fixing his gaze on his colleague.

 

"Sure. It's not like anyone's going to walk in, anyway." Dylan grins, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

 

Luke rolls his eyes but thanks him all the same.

 

"Come on," he says, stepping out from behind the counter and leading Calum to the employee locker room.

 

"So is that the guy you're cheating on whenever you're with me?" Calum asks casually - a little  _too_  casually, Luke notes.

 

The taller boy frowns. He wasn't entirely sure what he expected to hear, but that definitely wasn't it.

 

"What are you talking about? Dylan's not my boyfriend." he retorts.

 

Calum laughs, but there was no humor in his laughter.

 

"Yeah, right." he says.

 

"I'm  _single_ , in case you've forgotten. He's just a friend."

 

"I'm guessing you guys are friends with benefits too?"

 

"No! But even if we were, it's none of your business who I have sex with." Luke declares, leaning on the wall opposite the lockers as he waits for Calum to speak.

 

Luke wanted him to snap - to say that it was definitely his business because Calum loved him. But he knew it would never happen.

 

"Why do you care, anyway? I don't ask you about the random guys you bang while you're away. Or girls, for that matter." Luke says when Calum doesn't respond. "In fact, I never would have known you were into someone if I hadn't heard you on the radio yesterday." he adds, trying to sound unaffected.

 

"I don't sleep with every person I meet, if that's what you were thinking." Calum hissed, barely disguising his anger.

 

"Yeah, just the really hot ones." he laughs bitterly. "With the exception of me, of course. I don't know why you even bother with me, to be honest."

 

It was true. Luke knew he was nothing compared to the people Calum surrounded himself with. Up until now, he couldn't believe Calum would waste his time on someone like him. He was just... ordinary. Entirely unremarkable.

 

"What the hell is your problem?" Calum asks, raising his voice.

 

"Oh so you're asking  _me_?" Luke counters, raising his voice as well. "I wasn't the one who burst into your workplace acting like a dick. What the hell are you even doing here?"

 

"I wanted to hang out with you. But then I walk in and find you with that guy - "

 

"We're not together, Calum!" the blonde snaps, somehow managing not to choke on the words. "You don't get to be mad if I sleep with anyone else and I don't have the right to be jealous of the other people you've been with."

 

"What d'you think of me, a whore? I'm not sleeping with anyone else!"

 

Luke feels his eyes go wide.

 

_Did he just say what I think he said?_

 

His heart screamed at you to jump for joy, but he resisted. It didn't mean anything. They were still just bed buddies. And as long as that's what the two of them were, Luke couldn't let himself hope that maybe - just maybe - Calum might love him back.

 

He squares his shoulders and bites back the  _"I love you"_ that was sitting at the tip of his tongue.

 

"Well then what the hell's stopping you? Definitely not me - "

 

And that's when Calum's warm lips collide with his.

 

The kiss took Luke by surprise. He'd obviously kissed Calum before, but somehow this one felt different. He had no idea how or why it felt the way it did, but he stopped himself from thinking too much and poured his heart and soul into it. Never mind if this was just gonna turn into sex. Never mind if Calum leaves again. Never mind if nothing changes between the two of them.

 

Right now, all he wanted to do was kiss him - damn the consequences.

 

Calum breaks away to catch his breath.

 

" _Definitely_  you." he says, his forehead touching Luke's.

 

"Why didn't you tell me?" the other whispers, panting slightly.

 

"Because I thought you didn't care."

 

"You're an idiot."

 

"I know." Calum laughs.

 

"But you're  _my_  idiot."

 

He grins. "Yours."


End file.
